CBHN priority bills signed into law in 2021 include:

SB 65 (Skinner): California Monmnibus Act
This innovative and comprehensive law reimagines perinatal care to close the existing racial gaps in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity within California. This law advances equity in birthing outcomes by:

  • Codifying and expanding California’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Committee to investigate maternal mortality and morbidity with a mandate to look specifically at racial and socioeconomic disparities; queer, trans, and gender non-conforming birthing outcomes, and make recommendations for best practices to reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidity;
  • Updating data collection and protocols for counties that participate in the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Process;
  • Clarifying that pregnant people are exempt from CalWORKS welfare-to-work requirements; and
  • Building the midwifery workforce by establishing a fund for midwife training programs that meet the priorities of admitting underrepresented groups and those from underserved communities, or prioritize training and placement of graduates in California’s maternity care deserts.

Additionally, certain aspects of the California Momnibus Act that were included in the Budget Act of 2021 include:

  • Expanding eligibility for CalWORKs grants to pregnant people regardless of the requirement that they report which trimester their pregnancy is in and simplifying the verification process;
  • Increasing the pregnancy basic needs payment for pregnant WalWORKs recipients to $100 per month (from $47).
  • Adding doula care to eligible Medi-Cal Services;
  • Extending full scope Medi-Cal Services;
  • Extending full scope Medi-Cal to a birthing parent for 12 months postpartum; and
  • Including pregnant people as a priority for the state’s Guaranteed Income Pilot funded in the budget.

AB 342 (Gipson): Colorectal Cancer Screening & Testing
This law works to reduce the incidence or colorectal cancer and mortality rates by increasing preventative screening. This law eliminates out-of-pocket cost-sharing for a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive stool test, which will eliminate a significant barrier to colorectal cancer screening.

AB 118 (Kamlager): CRISES Act
This law establishes the Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems (CRISIS) Act pilot program, which will fundamentally improve emergency responses for vulnerable populations in California, by strengthening, expanding, and promoting community-based responses to emergencies.

AB 1407 (Burke): Implicit Bias Education: Registered Nurses
This law works to reduce the prevalence of implicit bias in health care settings by requiring an approved school of nursing, or an approved nursing program to include in its curriculum implicit bias coursework.

AB 789 (Gipson/Low): Hep C & B Screening
This law works to close the disparities in diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B and C by making California the first state in the country to require health facilities to offer voluntary hepatitis B and C testing.

AB 1344 (Arambula/Skinner) Syringe Exchange Programs
This law protects syringe services programs from misuse of the California Environmental Quality Act and ensures that these programs can continue to provide lifesaving services for people who use drugs.

SB 306 (Pan/Wiener): Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Testing
This law will strengthen California’s public health infrastructure and provide greater testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI). This law will expand access to STI testing remotely at home and in the community, increase access to STI treatment for patients and their partners, and update state law to boost congenital syphilis screening in the face of alarming increases in maternal-child transmission.

SB 395 (Caballero): Electronic Cigarette Tax: Health Careers Opportunity Grant Program
This law establishes a 12.5% excise tax on electronic cigarettes and uses a portion of the revenue to fund a State Health Career Opportunity Program that will support programs to increase the number of underrepresented minorities recruited, supported, and trained as needed health professionals.

AB 490 (Gipson/Bonta): Law enforcement: Positional Asphyxia
This law prohibits law enforcement from using techniques or transport methods that involve a substantial risk of positional asphyxia, which can occur when a person being restrained cannot get enough oxygen.

SB 2 (Bradford/Atkins): Peace Officers: De-certification
This law aims to increase accountability for law enforcement officers that commit serious misconduct and illegally violate a person’s civil rights. This law creates a statewide decertification process to revoke the certification of a peace officer following the conviction of serious crimes or termination from employment due to misconduct. Additionally, this law will strengthen the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act to prevent law enforcement abuses and other civil rights violations.